And I've just looked at the tracks for 22, that also looks tempting. I listened to Two From The Vaults over the weekend, from the same year (and with a similar set). There's something about the sound of the band/Garcia's guitar from that time (68/69). I can only describe it as having a lot more bite.
Completely agree with you roger about Live/Dead - that's the benchmark for me, both the version of Dark Star and the album as a whole.
I was surprised the first time I heard Grayfolded how 'ordinary' a lot of it sounded i.e. not ordinary as such but just like a great extended version of Dark Star, the first CD at least. The vocal 'swooshes' and 'folds' sound good though.
― James Ball (James Ball), Monday, 7 July 2003 13:54 (twenty years ago) link
― James Ball (James Ball), Thursday, 10 July 2003 19:43 (twenty years ago) link
― James Ball (James Ball), Wednesday, 16 July 2003 11:51 (twenty years ago) link
Just listening to vol 12's lovely version of China Cat Sunflower, as mentioned above by Aaron M.
Any new opinions?
― frankE (frankE), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 13:45 (twenty years ago) link
― Sean Witzman (trip maker), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 13:56 (twenty years ago) link
― christoff (christoff), Wednesday, 9 June 2004 15:25 (twenty years ago) link
i'm too tired to elaborate, but if you consider that Neil Young has Candian citizenship, and if you exclude the American contingent of Fleetwood Mac at their absolute peak, The Dead are the greatest American rock and roll band of all time.
Trux and the Drive By Truckers are tied for me personally, but we're looking through history's lens here, people. The Dead. the fucking DEAD!!!!
― roger adultery (roger adultery), Saturday, 24 July 2004 06:16 (nineteen years ago) link
― Monetizing Eyeballs (diamond), Saturday, 24 July 2004 06:23 (nineteen years ago) link
http://usa.festivalexpress.com/
I do have to admit, I didn't get that excited about Closing of Winterland though. THen again, I watched it at like 3 in the morning a couple months ago when I was pretty wiped out. I'll give it another go.
― Monetizing Eyeballs (diamond), Saturday, 24 July 2004 06:28 (nineteen years ago) link
haven't tracked down that Arista set - 71, eh? I'm more a 72-77 kinda guy, but will check it out - thanks!
― roger adultery (roger adultery), Saturday, 24 July 2004 06:35 (nineteen years ago) link
Yeah, the Ladies and Gentlemen thing is '71 but it's pretty song-oriented. Sort of midway between the psychedelic blow-outs and the Europe '72 stuff. It's a nice, pleasant listen. GREAT version of "Bird Song".
― Monetizing Eyeballs (diamond), Saturday, 24 July 2004 06:42 (nineteen years ago) link
― Sir Chaki McBeer III (chaki), Sunday, 25 July 2004 06:23 (nineteen years ago) link
― Monetizing Eyeballs (diamond), Sunday, 25 July 2004 07:20 (nineteen years ago) link
― Monetizing Eyeballs (diamond), Sunday, 25 July 2004 07:45 (nineteen years ago) link
Donna was probably just as proficient a musician as Phil Lesh (making her twice as proficient as Bob Weir) and an all around great, great vocalist. Her live performances were hit and miss due to lack of proper monitor support, everyone knows that.
She never gets a fair shake. It's not like she was Linda McCartney fer chrissakes.
The Godchauxes broght so much life (not to mention a a very vital jazz-informed musical eloquence) to The Dead. I love Pigpen and Mydland as much as the nxt guy, but the 70s are where it's AT because of Keith and Donna!
― roger adultery (roger adultery), Sunday, 25 July 2004 17:54 (nineteen years ago) link
Rocking the Rhein is good stuff as well.
― frankE (frankE), Wednesday, 29 September 2004 18:48 (nineteen years ago) link
― Matos W.K. (M Matos), Wednesday, 29 September 2004 18:54 (nineteen years ago) link
― Sean Witzman (trip maker), Wednesday, 29 September 2004 19:11 (nineteen years ago) link
― Roy Williams Highlight (diamond), Wednesday, 29 September 2004 19:27 (nineteen years ago) link
― 57 7th (calstars), Wednesday, 29 September 2004 20:26 (nineteen years ago) link
Au contraire. Au contraire.
― Hurting (Hurting), Wednesday, 29 September 2004 21:42 (nineteen years ago) link
i take umbrage with this comment.and so would CCR.
me rawk.you snow.
― eedd, Wednesday, 29 September 2004 23:18 (nineteen years ago) link
― Hurting (Hurting), Wednesday, 29 September 2004 23:20 (nineteen years ago) link
Help/Slip/Frank rules
― Jackson, Wednesday, 29 September 2004 23:22 (nineteen years ago) link
― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 30 September 2004 03:11 (nineteen years ago) link
― roger adultery (roger adultery), Thursday, 30 September 2004 04:49 (nineteen years ago) link
Thank You
― Uncle John, Saturday, 27 November 2004 21:20 (nineteen years ago) link
― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Sunday, 9 January 2005 08:49 (nineteen years ago) link
― chaki in charge (chaki), Sunday, 9 January 2005 09:05 (nineteen years ago) link
― Mark (MarkR), Thursday, 31 March 2005 18:07 (nineteen years ago) link
― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 1 April 2005 14:01 (nineteen years ago) link
Does this new version sound better:Europe '72 Remastered with bonus tracks?
― Lemonade Salesman (Eleventy-Twelve), Friday, 1 April 2005 15:17 (nineteen years ago) link
And LS, Europe 72 sounds better (though the original still sounds fine to me) and the bonus tracks are worth it.
― Scott CE (Scott CE), Friday, 1 April 2005 17:02 (nineteen years ago) link
― Lemonade Salesman (Eleventy-Twelve), Friday, 1 April 2005 17:08 (nineteen years ago) link
― Scott CE (Scott CE), Friday, 1 April 2005 17:32 (nineteen years ago) link
― Mark (MarkR), Friday, 1 April 2005 17:52 (nineteen years ago) link
YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND MONEY ON GREAT LIVE DEAD RECORDINGS. Archive.org and Furthur both have plenty of 1st rate SOUNDBOARD and other high quality recordings.
Download these for starters FOR FREE:
1977-05-08 - "one of the best" (5/7 and 5/9 were good, too)
1972-05-26 - soundboard
1977-05-26 - (same month/day as above, but different year)
1977-11-06 - "one of he best"
1970-05-02 - Harpur College (hard to find, but available as a Dick's Pick if you can't find it as a free download)
1971-04-28(?) - Fillmore East
1971 - Port Chester
1969 - Ark
1973 - Pavillion
1978 - Red Rocks
1973-11-11
1972-05-26
1968-02-14
1969-03-16
1970-02-13
1970-05-06
1981-02-21
1985-04-08
Lots of these are available as soundboard (SBD), just look for it. The Soundboards from 77 were especially high quality.
Sorry the dates are not in chronological order, but I started out doing it highest quality first and then I just went through my discs and chose the best for sound quality and performance. The above represent a good many hours of great live Dead: flub-free, energetic and good singing.
... and YES, I did learn all about bold punctuation from comic books!
― Lemonade Salesman (Eleventy-Twelve), Saturday, 2 April 2005 02:41 (nineteen years ago) link
― charleston charge (chaki), Saturday, 2 April 2005 02:46 (nineteen years ago) link
― Lemonade Salesman (Eleventy-Twelve), Saturday, 2 April 2005 02:50 (nineteen years ago) link
As far as paying $$...
I think "Go To Nassau" is just FANTASTIC! "Live Without A Net" is way overlooked, too, although I can see why people wouldn't like it. It grows on you, though.
― Lemonade Salesman (Eleventy-Twelve), Saturday, 2 April 2005 03:05 (nineteen years ago) link
1977-06-09 - soundboard1977-02-26 - soundboard1977-04-22 - soundboard1969-02-22 - soundboard
all totally killer quality top notch, but I'm not familiar enough to tell apart the 77's yet. I think 06-09 is the one that really is blowing me away lately.
― Lemonade Salesman (Eleventy-Twelve), Saturday, 2 April 2005 03:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― Lemonade Salesman (Eleventy-Twelve), Saturday, 2 April 2005 03:30 (nineteen years ago) link
― charleston charge (chaki), Saturday, 2 April 2005 03:42 (nineteen years ago) link
'77 - '78'72'69 - '70'74
I like the warmer, funkier mid-70s stuff more than the turn of the '70s acid, I guess. Curious if there is anything in the '80s that might interest me. Downloaded a couple of supposedly great shows from '79 and Jerry was already sounding pretty rough.
― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 14 November 2005 15:43 (eighteen years ago) link
― Mark (MarkR), Monday, 28 November 2005 23:59 (eighteen years ago) link
It's incredible: early Dead at their greaser/psychedelic-Tex-Mex best. The fidelity is insane too, it's like these cuts were recorded yesterday. It sounds way better than even the stuff on that Birth of the Dead comp. so crazy. There's a slowed down version of "Cream Puff War" on here that's great, a studio "Standing on the Corner", a version of "Stealin" that has an arrangement that's totally cooler than the one from the 1st single!!!!! I am not shitting you! this version of "Stealin'" is just tough ... it's just incredible. Any 1st album fan (and if you're *not* a first album fan yer nuts, get outta my face) needs to get this at once..
― Stormy Davis (diamond), Friday, 23 December 2005 06:47 (eighteen years ago) link
Two From the Vault (1968) - really good
Grateful Dead Download Series Number 6 (also 1968)- also very good
but Dick's Pick's 12 (1974) - which is a favourite of Suzy Creamcheese, I think , from another thread - is a soft ultra-noodley show.
Which were the more harder jamming/ rocking years?
― Bob Six (bobbysix), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 16:02 (eighteen years ago) link
in his autobiog Phil Lesh sez that 74 (the 'wall of sound' era) was the Dead's finest year musically, and i sorta agree w/ him - personally i like the noodle-jazz stuff they got into round about 72-74, def. post-Bitches Brew rock music (and they cld still get pretty intense when they wanted to - just a diff. sound/emphasis). garcia certainly swapped gtrs round abt 70 and that seemed to make a major diff. to his playing
― Ward Fowler (Ward Fowler), Wednesday, 28 December 2005 19:55 (eighteen years ago) link
I'm looking for the best recording of Dark Star - other than Live/Dead (which is just incredible). Is there another recording that is nearly as awesome, yet different?
Is the Greyfold 1-hour remix any good?
― Other One, Saturday, 21 January 2006 18:48 (eighteen years ago) link
― Mark (MarkR), Saturday, 21 January 2006 18:59 (eighteen years ago) link
that's honestly a really fun game to play along with imo
― J Edgar Noothgrush (Joan Crawford Loves Chachi), Friday, 25 August 2023 15:29 (nine months ago) link
I love how they can't help but get into that Sugar Magnolia.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Friday, 25 August 2023 17:30 (nine months ago) link
Maxmillion: not Taper's Choice, but I have seen them too. This was Richard's Pictures.
― Reeves Gabrels' Funko Pop (majorairbro), Sunday, 27 August 2023 05:44 (nine months ago) link
listening to 10/28/79 at Cape Cod this morning, not sure how I'd missed this one until now, it's a pretty hot show and one of those where the first set damn near bests the second set. you know you are in for a treat when the first set opens with a 12-minute "Half Step" into an 18-minute "Franklin's". the outro jam on the set 1 closing "TMNS" is fire too.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 30 August 2023 15:19 (nine months ago) link
lol that's about 50% more "Franklin" than I need! I did listen to set one this morning, Jerry starts creaky but warms up. Good setlist, nice "Althea."
― Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable POST (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 30 August 2023 21:26 (nine months ago) link
yeah it's a lot of "Fraklin's" but I think it's 100% justified
the second set "China > Rider" is worth it for the Phil bombz and when Bobby mistakenly tries to steal Jerry's "I wish I was a headlight" verse
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 30 August 2023 21:40 (nine months ago) link
79 fall tour is pretty great, I've always been partial to 10/31/79 Nassau Collisium.
― BrianB, Wednesday, 30 August 2023 22:55 (nine months ago) link
dipping into some '83 shows - an absolutely unhinged Jerry performance on "New Minglewood Blues" from 9/2/83 went waaaay beyond my expectations.
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Tuesday, 3 October 2023 01:02 (eight months ago) link
Yeah, that was a surprisingly decent show when it came out as a Dave's Pick a few years ago, I dug large parts of it. Although I always laughed when Phil opened the show with his, "Citizens of Boise, submit or perish – you are a conquered people" intonation and the band promptly launched into...... "Wang Dang Doodle".
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 3 October 2023 14:28 (eight months ago) link
Ha. I don’t think the dead doing WDD conquers anyone.
― tobo73, Tuesday, 3 October 2023 14:41 (eight months ago) link
xp i clipped that exact section afterwards!
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Tuesday, 3 October 2023 15:41 (eight months ago) link
New to me, the "Dark Star" from 2/21/69 at the Dream Bowl. Really liking this version a lot, feels like one of the earliest versions where it feels like the entire band is locked into the improv.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 3 November 2023 22:02 (seven months ago) link
Thanks, Jon!
https://archive.org/details/gd69-02-21.sbd.owen.7859.sbeok.shnf/gd69-02-21d1t03.shn
― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 3 November 2023 23:02 (seven months ago) link
Not the longest version, but nonetheless an epic, prismatic one.
― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Friday, 3 November 2023 23:07 (seven months ago) link
Thanks for this. I needed a good Dark Star>St. Stephen>The Eleven to lift my spirits. That last one is just so joyous to me.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Saturday, 4 November 2023 00:17 (seven months ago) link
Listening to without a net, was wondering who the smokin trumpet player was on “let it grow”, realized it’s Jerry’s midi guitar lol
― brimstead, Tuesday, 16 January 2024 21:45 (five months ago) link
Just caught on that Paul Pope did the artwork for the 7-8 78 Red Rocks release, That was a bit of a surprise.Pretty good show.
― The Artist formerly known as Earlnash, Saturday, 20 April 2024 01:55 (one month ago) link
Yeah, I know, no one wants to be bothered with more versions of this song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC3h0b8C-ls
― Marten Broadcloak, mild-mannered GOP congressman (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 13 May 2024 18:51 (one month ago) link
That's a killer version. Behind the Europe '72 trunk, the Dead box set I most wish I had was that complete Winterland one.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 13 May 2024 19:40 (one month ago) link
wanted to listen to the Dead today because of Bill Walton. I'm not a megafan and don't seem myself becoming one. I know there's so much out there I haven't heard but I'm not really inclined to make a job of wading through it. So I tend to return to Sunshine Daydream/Old Renaissance Fairground/Venta 72 show.
it's all the things I like about the Dead live and not much of what I don't like (they don't even butcher Promised Land the rock n' roll cover), they seem really locked in, great jams and the sound quality is that of an official live album. So, for the number of times I'm going to want to listen to a whole show, this is it for me.
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 28 May 2024 17:52 (two weeks ago) link
best choice, imho
― I painted my teeth (sleeve), Tuesday, 28 May 2024 17:54 (two weeks ago) link
That is such a good show.
I've been really into 07/31/74 (Dave's Picks, Vol. 2). Probably the best Truckin' I've ever heard with some stellar jams that lead out of that. Great Ship of Fools, which is now one of my favorite GD songs thanks to this show.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Tuesday, 28 May 2024 18:27 (two weeks ago) link
Can never go wrong with Veneta, easily one of my top five shows and one that always hits right. Definitely has earned the reputation.
When I heard about Walton, I pulled up Dave's Picks Volume 5 - 11/17/1973, due to the UCLA connection (this was performed at the Pauley Pavilion). It's another one probably in my top ten at least, not a whole lot of huge, lengthy jams but so many great versions of songs.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 28 May 2024 19:11 (two weeks ago) link
Walton got me thinking about the Dead. I listened to Live Dead and have been working through Dicks Picks vol.36 which is a 72 show from Philly.
Had not heard that show for a long time. Excellent mix for a board recording by Bear on this one. It has a great Dark Star that ends up in this kinda driving country guitar jam leading to Morning Dew.
― The Artist formerly known as Earlnash, Wednesday, 29 May 2024 23:03 (two weeks ago) link
Never been a huge Weather Report Suite fan, but the one on 06/28/74 is something else and the closest they ever got to jazz.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Thursday, 30 May 2024 23:01 (two weeks ago) link
I will say this, sure it was the Dead and Co. version and not like a prime '72 version or whatever, but listening to a "Dark Star" with the Sphere visuals was pretty fuckin' cool. I can't lie. Glad I got a chance to see a couple shows at that venue.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 4 June 2024 15:07 (one week ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQskcr4v0LI
― Marten Broadcloak, mild-mannered GOP congressman (Raymond Cummings), Sunday, 16 June 2024 00:54 (yesterday) link
That's a classic version. Love the Zacherle intro on that show.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Sunday, 16 June 2024 01:58 (yesterday) link
the latest Dave's bonus disc (5/4/77) is pretty hot.
― encino morricone (majorairbro), Sunday, 16 June 2024 07:33 (yesterday) link
Listened to that Dark Star again and realized that has a "feelin' groovy jam" in the middle, so named because uses Simon & Garfunkel's The 59th Street Bridge song as the takeoff point.
― il lavoro mi rovina la giornata (PBKR), Sunday, 16 June 2024 11:33 (yesterday) link
xpost - yeah I really like that bonus disc, the main show itself was just “fine”. I get that they want to milk ever show from May of 77 for official release, but kind of a lackluster show for the 50th pick. Glad I subscribed though, that bonus disc is fire.
― Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Sunday, 16 June 2024 18:38 (yesterday) link